As i have been hinting at my stitching mojo is very much absent at the moment so the updates are a bit slow at the moment

Here is Carley.. i had to physically rip myself away from trying to reach the same volume as i would once have sttiched in a week, i love how the fugue and chrysocolla blue colours are stitching up to the bottom left…

just to recap i am stitching her on 28 ct angels wings jobelan from Stitches and Spice using HDF silks 1×1

art by Jo Lynch , stitched 1x1 with hdf on 28 ct jobelan

here is also the first look at Fairy Charity a HAED chart form Myrea Pettit’s gorgeous artwork…
there isn’t much to see atm as i was testing the fabric to make sure the colour was ok with the lovley soft tones of the artwork , it looks wonderful irl but a little light on the scan..
it is stitched on 28 ct jobelan from Stitches and Spice in a shade called Bush Morning using HDF silks

art by Myrea pettit

a big thankyou to the special fairy who sent me Metta , i am very spoiled as i have been gifted some lovely charts in recent months , and then another fairy saved me by sending an hdf voucher , just when i needed it most!! so thankyou all my special friends i am way way in to your debt

My dilemma is which one of Metta or Taking Flight ( which is on its way ) to start…
as i was saying to my fairy who gifted me Metta… i really do not know what colour to sttich it…
i have drawn a blank

Taking flight i more or less have the colours in my mind

and a final thought about silks..
red fans check out vikki’s new red .. beredded… it is stunning, you can get it on the front page , but scroll down inthis forum post to see a stunning picture of it ( second picture ) and i created a new colour.. fudgue blue/suepurple and black … vikki says the finished product looks like Old Maid Of the Abyss … see pic below on steroids … which sounds pretty cool to me… it is avaialbale to order if such a colour appeals to you… just click here if you like SSR silk

I decided it was time for a change of pace…
those who know me well know i am really battling depression again atm and i thought maybe trying something different might help..
i really liked having a sampler in my model rotation and was looking around to see if any designer would take a fruit loopy ditzy bubble brain for a model stitcher when Janine from Colours Down Under asked me if i was interested in sttiching some shop model samplers for her …
NOw again those who know me know i swore i would never stitch 2×2 again…. well…
i am
lol…
because the piece has a lot of specialty stitches it was a given it would be 2×2
the chart is a Victoria Sampler piece called Jingle Bells Chistmas tree Farm sampler if you scroll to the bottom you will see the specialty stitches.. i am only worried about the plait stitch… but i am sure i will figure it out… lol ( i promise janine i will work it out…)
the fabric is a lovley piece dyed by Janine ,

The Victoria Sampler Design, sttiched on 32 ct linen assorted fibres

Little miss fussy pot is going to redo the door… it needs another stitch imo.. lol

I was mega disappointed in the needlework show…

having said that the three Sampler cove pieces ( first three charts ) released were AWESOME and there are more to come from Diane which is even more exciting I have ordered Taking Flight … technically i could not afford it … but the other chart i really want is so out of my price range that this was my compensation chart… and what a compensation it is!.. Butterlfies galore on this piece … which hardly anyone sees until i point it out… the other two newbies are part of what will be a quartet celebrating Diane’s 4 favourite female singers

fyi the chart i am coveting.. ( not even on my wishlist it is so out of reach) is more about a personal stitching challenge
A number of girlson the HDF board have started it… and the thought of over 100 rosettes in a vierlanden sampler is very alluring Metta Putfarcken 1848

I knitted a chunky purple scarf last week when my nephews were visiting , but muffy did not get to model it as i was finishing as Noah was walking out the door, He needed to have a scarf for a scarf drive his class was doing for an indian orphange and his mum ( my sis) has been too busy in her new job , so i whipped one up for him in 2 days

I have lots of pictures to share today, and they all have an animal in them…
even the stitching ( lol it is Carley Cat wip)

Firstly the stitching…

as ever i can not get the colours quite right when i get pictures of my silk haed pieces it is really frustrating,
and i owe an apologuy as i forgot to ask paul to photograph Puggle who is a pink and yellow blob atm , but i still did a fair bit of stitching on him… soo maybe next week…

Carley Cat art by Jo Lynch

next we have the latest Beanie i knitted whilst i was in the car going to and from Cradle mountain over easter, as before the model is Miss Muffin… she is getting used to this photographing thing… the beanie is knitted in some lovely 8 ply i had from the for now closed ( but to be reopened once she survives her move to the usa) The Knittery…sorry i can not remember the name of the colour

Muffy in hiding

Muffy doing her bestest cute muffy look

and then finally 2 pics form our trip to cradle mountain…
I managed to get a wombat picture for paula and Sonya ..
we saw wombie on the first day , on the side of the main road when we went for a walk.. minus the camera..

on the way back from our trek on the second day we walked the same bit of road, i wandered along calling wombie wombie…
till i found him/her.. whilst paul was taking pics of a wallaby we had thought i could offer up instead of the wombie if he/she was a no show, both were literally 5 metres from the side of the main road into cradle …
the sad thing is… that night whilst sitting inthe cooking shelter stitching MINUS the camera ( paul was not stitching, he was playing Spore on my new DSI) TWO young Tassie devils came up to the window and looked in at us… i thought all the tourists where going to have kittens they were all so excited, but alas , no camera to document the excitement

My Darling girl Muffy…
when paul would not model his beanie, and there was NO WAY i was, Muffy stepped in and performed as expected,
she thought it was wonderful fun , and was disappointed when we finished… she is used to me putting things on her nose as when i am getting ready to take her for a walk i always stick one of my socks on her nose , playing a joke with her, … to the point if i am slow to do it, she tried to put her nose inthe sock herself… silly girl..

Sorry i meant to do this th eother day and i got waylaid updating and rearranging my wishlist ( it was fun pretending i had space in my personal stitching to have some of the charts… yeah right..)
So I Thought i should share my progress with my pretty frenchie girl ( definately a girl chart)

for those of you who are not familiar with her , i am sttiching it 1×1 on 35 ct cream weddigen linen using hdf in black and a pink mystery spool… I tend to get sidetracked wandering along creating black spider webs and forgetting to fill them in.. lol

My next picture will not be stitching!!!! hopefully i can post a pic of the Beanie i knitted paul on the weekend , he baggsed my expensive Lapis coloured Jitterbug wool saying how nice it would look as a beanie for him… ( eyeroll) , so now he has a pretty blue beanie aussie girls check out www.sarahdurrant.com for the pretty wool, it knits up wonderfully

and after a disaster knitting my 2 ply lace fingerless mitts i decided i could only modify so many times before i was confused as to where i was.. so i started again.. but i am aiming for at least a picture of one completed one in the next update..

what did i learn…. i can not sit a lace mitt down for 2 weeks and come back and remember where i was….. i must make extensive notes about where i am before walking away..

my next stitching pic is also a mystery… do i continue sttiching the very easy not taxing on my small brain Carley cat ( will i ever be able to face a complicated chart again??) or start the as easy Puggle….

speaking of HDF silks… you must check out the site.. Vikki has introduced mini spools for all the solid colours of HDF in SINGLE STRAND both regular and premium….. rejoice 1×1 stitchers , the link to her site is over there —> to the right

I know it is the fear of everyone who spends most of their life buying online.. especially if you are an ecclectic stitching diva from tasmania , where sttiching LNS are like a needle in a very large haystack… but i had my visa details stolen and large purchases booked up and my savings got temporarily wiped out..

THATS why i have been quiet the last 10 days.. i have been somewhat miserable.. not good for someone with chronic depression and an anxiety disorder.

i picked it up on sunday when i got back from our camping trip as i check my banking detailsonline 3-4 times a week.. cos i am paranoid..

and it paid off.. whilst i was ringing the credit union on monday , they were ringing me.. as after the first transaction was approved by visa.. they went wild and tried to spend over $10 000 USD , which of course was denied as i do not have that sort of money..

my card got cancelled, the money was actually still there but being held in limbo waiting for the transaction to go through.. i had to rerarrange all our payments made on cards to pauls account and transfer over money to cover it all, , and because it was international fraud , it could not be quickly sorted.. the lovely lady at the My state credit union did a bit of lateral thinking and looked up the company the goods had been ordered through ( lovely expensive hand made jewellery site) and emailled them and told them to stop the order , she heard back from them today and they reckon the order was never made… so even more mysteriouser..

so my money was taken out of quarantine today … BUT apparently there could still be more out there, which have not appeared yet… and i am liable for them too .. until i make a fraud claim..

i do not understand it all.. i just know for over week all my money was gone and it might still go.. i mean i know it is covered by visa.. andi would get it back .. hopefully … but…

so i muddled along on Carley Cat, but decided not to share a pic this rotation.. you will have to wait a fortnight, thank goodness there are blocks of colour.. i could not stitch single stitches to save myself atm.. i am so not in the stitching groove..

then i knitted most of a lace fingerless glove in 2 ply silk/merino, but again no picture.. the camera is at school

i probably will not touch it again for months but i just HAD to see how vikki’s new Fugue blues looked on black.. it was an unanswered question that was eating away at me
what i did learn is i need the premium single strand silk for 1×2 on 40 ct as the coverage is a bit on the sparse side for my tastes , so nowi need to decide exactlywhat colour to sttich my other black linen ieces in and get some SSP silk

i have been searchingfor new hand dyed wool retailers no the wonderful Knittery is closing down ( se is moving to the states… pout)
i have found 2 so far i really like..

Wired for Fibre check out the 2 ply silk/casmere.. i WANT
and Sarah Durant … checkout the jitterbug 4 ply , cant you see me with ajaunty ALIZERINE cap or fingerless gloves… i can.. lol

The lovely Ladies at The Cats Whiskers in Western Australia, have created this version of their Krazy Kitties to raise funds for The Victorian Bushfire appeal… Janie says her aim is $500 …
I am sure with a bit of effort the stitchers in the world can push it up over that figure.. as of March 8th it was at $341 AUD ( stats on the websites home page)
this little cutie only costs $3.50 USD donation to obtain

i used hdf Begrimed for his face, tail etc ( seemed the right colour) seasilk for his pants, hat and ribbon, a discontinued red.. poinsettia for the red bits ,
i had to modify the back as heis charted for 2×2 on the front and 1×1 on the back… and of course me being me did 1×1 on the front , making the section on the back too big , so i just went with the full date